While the folks in Miami are but a pale comparison to the idiot writers in Orlando, there's something in the Floridian water supply that reduces most, if not all, of the basketball writers in that state to simpletons when it comes to suggesting any and all pro basketball players want to come to their fine state. Regardless of how stupid those projections are.
The latest to wind me up is the usually intelligent Ira Winderman. who wrote yesterday about Chris Bosh and setting up the J.O./CB4 reunion tour this fall in Miami. Won't happen. As much as homer writers want it to be, it won't happen.
Let's discuss why, for the slow students on the keyboards down there. Winderman dismisses the possibility that Bosh will re-up THIS summer with the Raptors. In fact, re-upping this year with the Raptors could net Bosh as much as 30 Million dollars (of the US variety) more than waiting for the summer of 2010. Let's do the math. Bosh already gets about a $18M bonus for staying with his original team on a seven year deal with bigger annual increases than the six year deal awaiting next summer, if he moves on. Secondly, there is a recession and the salary cap, and it's kissin' cousin, the luxury tax threshold, will be down significantly in 2010. So the financial experts tell me. Having two $20M players on the same team means a lot of D-Leaguers sitting in uniforms at the end of the bench. THEN, there's the chance the new collective bargaining agreement is going to reduce pay and pay opportunities even more. How about limiting contracts to four or five years? How about making the pay difference a WHOLE LOT BIGGER for jumping rather than staying? How about a LOWER percentage of revenue for the players? How about a strike, stopping payment completely?
It's not hard to see Bosh, happy where he's at, taking the money.
Now, let's talk teams. Does he want to join Miami this coming season? Not on a bet. He's tried playing with O'Neal. It didn't take. So, he joins Miami NEXT year. Well, he won't be joining them coming off a full season with Toronto. He'll have been traded by then. But let's say he wants to build that fabulous house down the street from Vince and Tiger and whoever else has a lot sitting open beside them. He joins Wade and .... who? Beasley? Sorta plays Bosh's position, doesn't he? A bunch of wannabe's and never-were's? Please! He'd be lonesome for Calderon and Bargnani before November was half over.
If he's going to hook up for less money with anybody that has title aspirations, it's going to be LeBron James or the West Coast Smirk with the Lakers. Otherwise, he's going to be money-hungry.
And, as we've already stated, money makes Toronto look awfully good. Heck, this is the city that reserved judgement after the story came out about him being a deadbeat dad. Turns out that wasn't true. Imagine the reaction to the original story had he been in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or even Miami. It's not that the press is acquiescent in Toronto, it's just that most of the media up here wait until getting all of the facts.
Furthermore, Toronto does have a chance at being better than Miami. Starting with the first game of this coming season. It was all about the health with the Raptors this year. Sure, Bosh himself is no healthy mule. But it's a better bet that Calderon, Bargnani and Marion's replacement will stay healthier than O'Neal. And Wade's a warrior. And warriors get hurt.
As for the crap that Colangelo likes Beasley, I'll bet an unnamed source told Winderman that. Colangelo never says anything more than platitudes to anybody who could go running to the press or to the commish. Man's a one-man three-letter organization when it comes to telling secrets. The story that Bosh requested a trade was utterly bogus.
In all of the time that the Floridian media has been cracking about Toronto Raptors fleeing the northern climes for the sunny south, TWO Raptors have broken hearts by turning down Toronto contracts. Mike James did the Raptors a favour by taking his me-first game on the road to Houston (and a bunch of other teams since). And Tracy McGrady left for Orlando. How'd that work out for ya' Orlando?
Raptor money is just as green as anybody else's in the NBA. Money talks. Bosh has a good situation in Toronto, with a good salary, a coach he likes, decent teammates that move up a notch when healthy and a place in the top circles of Toronto society. If it wasn't for the odd bit of snow and bad seasons when everything breaks badly, it would be perfect.
And Miami is far from perfect now. And in the future. No matter what the 'journalists' think and write. And dream.
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